Leptidea juvernica

Cryptic wood white
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae
Genus: Leptidea
Species:
L. juvernica
Binomial name
Leptidea juvernica
Williams 1946[1]

Leptidea juvernica, the Cryptic wood white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae.

Taxonomy

A 2011 study using karyotype analysis and analysis of mitochondrial nuclear DNA markers concluded that the complex of cryptic species that includes Leptidea sinapis and Leptidea reali also included a third, new species Leptidea juvernica.[1]

Distribution

L. juvernica ranges from Ireland and France in the west to Kazakhstan in the east.[1] The population in Ireland was formerly thought to be Leptidea reali,[2] but is now known to be L. juvernica.[3]

Appearance

It has been noted that specimens of L. juvernica from Ireland, originally thought to be L. sinapis, had a noticeably stronger green tinge.[4]

  • Male specimen of L. juvernica from Ireland. The end of the abdomen has been removed to allow correct identification through the preparation of a genitalia mount.
  • Genitalia of a male specimen of L. juvernica from Ireland, under a microscope. The measurements shown beneath are diagnostic for the separation from L. sinapis.

References

  1. ^ a b c Dincă, V., Lukhtanov, V. A., Talavera, G., Vila, R. (24 May 2011). "Unexpected layers of cryptic diversity in wood white Leptidea butterflies". Nature Communications. 2 (1): 324. Bibcode:2011NatCo...2..324D. doi:10.1038/ncomms1329. ISSN 2041-1723. PMID 21610727.
  2. ^ "Réal's Wood White". National Museums Northern Ireland. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  3. ^ Nelson, B., Hughes, M. (2011). "The distribution of Leptidea sinapis (Linnaeus, 1758) and L. reali Reissinger, 1989 (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) in Ireland". Entomologist's Gazette. 62: 213–233.
  4. ^ Thomas, Jeremy (1986). Royal Society for Nature Conservation guide to butterflies of the British Isles. Sevenoaks, Kent: Newnes Books. p. 58. ISBN 0600351904.
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